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Group A

This opening fixture at the historic Azteca venue will replay the first game from 2010, when Bafana Bafana tied 1-1 with Mexico. Mexico's knockout phase record at the worldwide showpiece includes just one victory, achieved against Bulgaria when they previously hosted in 1986. Their coach, Javier Aguirre, played as an attacker in that team and will be targeting a third quarter-final appearance as hosts. The South African side, coached by veteran Belgian manager Hugo Broos, qualified for their first World Cup since hosting, ending above Nigeria and Benin despite having a victory over Lesotho awarded against them for using an suspended player.

It will represent Korea Republic's 11th consecutive finals qualification. Legend Hong Myung-bo featured in four of those, and finished in third place in the Golden Ball voting when South Korea made the semi-final in 2002. Hong is now their manager and led them unbeaten through a anything but straightforward qualifying section. The fourth side in Group A will be the victor of a European qualifying play-off featuring the Czech Republic, Denmark, North Macedonia, or the Republic of Ireland.

Group B

The Canadian team have qualified for the World Cup on two occasions and, while Qatar 2022 yielded their maiden finals goal, it did not deliver their first-ever finals point. Jesse Marsch is the head coach of probably the most talented group of players in their history, with key men like Jonathan David at Juventus and Alphonso Davies at Bayern Munich. How favorable the draw looks hinges mostly on whether Italy progress through the UEFA play-off (the remaining three teams are Bosnia and Herzegovina, Northern Ireland, and Wales).

After failing to qualify in 1998 and 2002, the Swiss have navigated the initial phase in four of the past five tournaments and were quarter-finalists at the last two European Championships. Murat Yakin’s side booked their ticket without defeat from probably the most straightforward of the UEFA groups and, with veterans like Ricardo Rodriguez and Granit Xhaka, have players aiming to play at their fourth World Cups. Qatar, having ended up in fourth in their third phase qualification group, were given a significant boost by being chosen as a host for the fourth round and clinched qualification with a 2-1 win over the UAE. Julen Lopetegui’s entire squad is selected exclusively from the domestic league.

Group C

Scotland's return to the World Cup in 28 years looks a lot like their last appearance, when they lost to the Seleção and Morocco; the Haitian team occupy the place of Norway. Their primary objective will be to make it to the knockout stage for the first time after 8 prior group phase eliminations. Haiti’s only prior finals, in 1974, was remembered less for their three defeats than for the ordeal that befell midfielder Ernst Jean-Joseph who, after testing positive in a doping test, was beaten by Haitian army officers before being deported. They will have restricted away support due to travel restrictions from the USA.

Carlo Ancelotti took over as Brazil’s third manager in a qualifying process that featured a streak of three successive losses, but there is little jeopardy in South American qualifying these days. He has overseen a clear upturn in form. Semi-finalists in Qatar in 2022, Morocco appear the strongest of the north African nations, capable both of overwhelming rivals and playing on the counter, qualifying with a 100% record.

Pool D

At the start of last year, the USA seemed in a dismal condition, losing to Panama and Canada in the Concacaf Nations League and to Turkey and Switzerland in friendly matches. But over the past year, Mauricio Pochettino has seemingly begun to get his ideas across and in November the USA beat Paraguay before routing Uruguay 5-1 in exhibition games. They will start against Paraguay, who are competing in their sixth finals. They have won one game at each of the prior five, a record that has led to both group-stage eliminations and a quarter-final appearance. Their trademark cautious approach hasn't altered: they managed only 14 goals in their 18 games in South American qualifying.

This is not the most fluent Australian side and their squad lacks clear stars, but despite an shaky start to the third round of Asian qualifying, Tony Popovic’s side qualified by beating Japan at home and Saudi Arabia away under intense pressure in their last two matches. The group’s final team will come from the victor of the European playoff C (Kosovo, Romania, Slovakia, or Turkey).

Group E

After back-to-back group-stage exits, Germany are no longer the feared force of old. The shift to a more progressive philosophy has brought a vulnerability and the group initially looked like posing a massive test to Julian Nagelsmann’s side. The Ecuadorian team were the revelations of qualifying, ending up in second place behind Argentina in South America. While they scored only 14 goals in 18 games, a defence including Willian Pacho of Paris Saint-Germain and Piero Hincapié of Arsenal, shielded by Chelsea’s Moisés Caicedo, let in a paltry five.

Ivory Coast live in a state of permanent pessimism, where nothing is ever quite good as the golden generation of 15-20 years ago. But since assuming control during the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, manager Emerse Faé has proved transformative. Following an improbable continental success on home soil, Côte d’Ivoire were ruthless in qualification, scoring 25 goals and conceding none.

The smallest country ever to reach the finals, the Curaçao team, were the final team drawn, though, making the group look a lot less daunting than it could have appeared.

Pool F

Ronald Koeman’s Netherlands side perhaps lack the star quality of previous Dutch eras, but they secured qualification unbeaten and Memphis Depay, who bagged eight goals in qualification, always appears a more effective performer with his country's side than at domestic level. They begin against Japan, who will participate in their eighth consecutive finals, and were by some way the most impressive of the Asian nations in qualifying, losing one of their 16 games over the two phases, with a combined goal difference of 54-3.

Tunisia secured of a third straight World Cup appearance by topping a manageable qualifying group, picking up 28 points of a available 30. Sami Trabelsi’s team are perhaps not as defensive as some past Tunisian teams; they had a remarkable 14 separate goalscorers in qualification. If Graham Potter’s Sweden progress through the UEFA playoff (against Ukraine in the semi-final, then either Poland or Albania in the final), that will create a rematch of the group stage game in Dortmund in 1974 when Johan Cruyff first executed the iconic Cruyff Turn.

Pool G

Belgium and the Pharaohs are moving on from the shadow of golden generations. Rudi Garcia’s Belgium were erratic in qualifying, finding the net eight times but letting in five in two wins over Wales, finding goals easily at times, but also laboring to a 1-1 draw away to Kazakhstan.

Egypt are the most decorated side in African football history, but having not managed to reach the finals during their golden period 15-20 years ago, they have never fully fulfilled their potential on the world stage. Mohamed Salah and Omar Marmoush give them attacking threat, but it was a defence that conceded only twice in 10 games that ensured they qualified unbeaten.

A reserved place for Oceania effectively equated to a spot at the finals for New Zealand, who sailed through qualifying, winning five games out of five, scoring 29 goals, nine of them by Chris Wood, but they are the lowest-ranked side to have booked their place in North America next summer. Team Melli, who lost once in a difficult third phase qualification section, are on a travel ban, possibly